Quick opening construction for window envelopes



March 25, 1958 V. E. HEYWOOD QUICK OPENING CONSTRUCTION FOR WINDOW ENVELOPES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1954 INVENTOR VZ ZZCQJEHeyn OOJ March 25, 1958 'v. E. HEYWOOD 2,823,065

. QUICK OPENING CONSTRUCTION FOR WINDOW ENVELOPES Filed Aug. 2'7, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ji'iazzzfor: Zinc-e221 EHe wo a) 'yflifl A TTOR/VE Y United States QUICK OPENING CONSTRUCTION FOR WINDOW ENVELOPES Vincent E. Heywood, Worcester, Mass, assignor to United Mass, at corpo- States Envelope Company, Springfield, ration of Maine Application August 27, 1954, Serial No. 452,517 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-85) This invention relates generally to envelopes, and more particularly to a quick-opening construction for window envelopes which makes it possible to secure, even under atent and pull, to tear out the wall material along divergent lines of perforations running from the ends of the slit to the envelopes proximate corners. But such a slitdefined ripping tongue, as stated in'both of the abovementioned patents, cannot be seized or grasped in ones fingers, unless the envelope, in said tongues vicinity, be bent or flexed, so as to throw the tongue upwardly, out of the fiat plane of the wall material. As is well known, there are numerous situations where an envelope, because of being virtually immobilized by its environment, cannot be bent or flexed in this fashion.

An example of these situations is the frequent use, either of an ordinary envelope or of a window envelope, to enclose an invoice or bill that relates specifically to merchandise (such as a book) contained in a relativelyrigid box or carton, to which said envelope, with the invoice sealed therein, is strongly and well-nigh permanently adhered, as by full area gluing of its seamed rear Wall to a side of the box or carton. In this convenient and much-used mailing procedure, the consignees name and address, as written or typed on the ordinary envelope, or as revealed on the invoice through the window or transparency of the window envelope, furnishes all postal information that is needed for a united and simultaneous delivery to the consignee of the merchandise and of the bill or invoice relating thereto.

However, in the practice of this mailing method, the bill or invoice frequently becomes torn, bent or otherwise damaged or mutilated, in the act of extracting it from a so-immobilized envelope. And this is always a matter of serious and costly concern to the consignor, where the so-enclosed bills or invoices are in the form of intricately punched and virtually permanent record cards which are required, on their return to the consignor, to be fed fiatwise, for accounting or like purposes, through a so-called business machine. In every such system, the patching, repair and replacement of these punched invoice cards that are returned in a torn, bent or otherwise damaged condition, has heretofore been an item of heavy and constant expense to consignors who employ these mailing and invoicing methods. For it is wholly unavailing, and sometimes even hazardous in this situation, to use envelopes, of either standard or window type, having convergent lines of tearing perforations that merge into a slit-defined ripping tongue," after the fashion of the aforesaid Wilson and Smith patents. This is self-evident first, because such an envelope, being imice mobilized by its full area adhesion to the box or carton, cannot be given the bending of flexure that is always needed to deflect its ripping tongue in position for finger seizure, and second, because attempts of consignees, by use of sharp or pointed instruments, to deflect such slitdefined tongues upwardly for finger seizure, are almost certain to damage the fragile invoice cards contained in such envelopes.

By the instant invention, these shortcomings of the prior art quick-opening envelopes are elfectively nullified. This is achieved by so interrelating an address Window with convergent lines of tearing perforations in an envelopes wall as to provide for such perforations a ripping tongue or tab that is free to be seized in ones fingers under any and all conditions, and that needs no fiexure or bending of the envelope to render it finger-seizable.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view, showing the inside surface of a blank from which the window envelope of my invention may be constructed.

Fig. 2 is a front face view of said Window envelope, as fabricated from the blank of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, showing said envelope, with invoice sealed therein, in the above-described immobilized environment, i. e. glued by its seamed rear wall to a rigid carton containing the merchandise to which said invoice relates.

Fig. 4 is a front face view, similar to Fig. 2, illustrating the quick-opening operation which renders the invoice accessible for removal.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, illustrating such quick-opening operation, when the envelopes gluing or seaming is of so-ealled postage saver type.

My improved envelopes blank, as shown in Fig. 1, is of conventional shape or outline; it provides a rectangular body portion 1, to serve as the envelopes front Wall, a pair of opposite relatively-narrow side or end flaps 2, 2, foldable on lines 5, 5, a large back flap 3, foldable on line 7, and an opposite closure or seal flap 4, whose inside margin carries a layer of wettable sealing glue 4'. Flaps 2, 2 and 3 are folded and glued in conventional manner to provide the envelopes seamed rear wall. That is to say, the side flaps 2, 2, after being folded over on lines 5, 5, receive suitable glue imprints 6, 6 (see Fig. 2) on their exposed surfaces, following which the back flap 3 is folded over on line 7, to overlap it with and adhere it to the infolded side flaps 2, 2.

This envelopes quick-opening construction is supplied in part by two lines of tearing slits or perforations and 9 in its front wall 1, that converge inwardly toward each other from the vicinity of said walls upper and lower corners 12 and 13, respectively, at one end of the envelope. But the spaced inner ends of these convergent tear lines 8 and 9, instead of merging with the ends of a curved tongue-defining slit (as in the aforesaid Wilson and Smith patents) are arranged to intersect, at vertically spaced points 10 and 11 respectively, with the extreme inner end of an elongated window opening W, formed in said front wall 1.

Said window opening W is of the appropriate size and location to reveal address data on a rectangular enclosure C (shown by broken lines in Fig. 2) which the envelope is designed and proportioned to receive. This window opening W has conventional substantially straight boundary edges except at its inner end. There, at said window's inner end, the boundary edge, between said intersection points 10 and 11, is re-entrant, by virtue of the front wall material being extended inwardly be yond said intersection points, to form a generally convex tab or tongue 15, that encroaches appreciably on the space bounded by the four corners of the window W.

Since the window opening is much wider than this tongue 15, the latters entire free edge is appreciably spaced, in all directions, from all frontwall materialin the same plane as said tab or tongue. Therefore, said tab 15,'being of single thickness flexible material, can always be readily picked up by its free edge, in ones fingers, to initiate, by a pull on said tab in the arrow when the envelope is wholly unattached. This result 7 stems from the tab being extended, as shown, into the window space, so that the latter gives finger access, in and just below the plane of the front wall material, to all portions of said tabs free edge; in this arrangement, said free tab is still an integral part of the generally triangular area 16 of front wall material that is progressively displaced by the above-described opening action, whose culmination, as shown in Fig. 4, exposes and makes accessible for finger seizure one entire side edge C of the H envelopes enclosed invoice card C. Thereupon the latter can readily be seized and freely drawn out endwise from the envelope pocket, across the so-displaced section 16, without any risk of tearing, bending'orotherwise mutilating said invoice card C. i i

Fig. 5 depicts, for the above-described opening action, a superior result that accrues when my envelope is of the so-called postage saver type. In that case,;the

. right-hand side flap 2 of Figs. 1 and 2, instead 'of having with back flap 3 a permanent full length adhesive con- V 1 4 cause this would adhere, the patch to the displaceable front wall section 16 of my envelope. However, the patch 18, at this inner end of window W, is given a materially extended marginal overlap, which allows its top and bottom adhesive lines 20, 21 to extend well past the windows inner end, as shown inFig. 1, thus to anchor the patch securely in the vicinity of the inner end of window W.

Iclaim:

1. In an envelope construction ofthe class described,

'a rectangular front wallyside and back flaps integral therewith and folded and gluedin, overlapping relation to provide a seamed rear wall in opposition to said front wall,-and a sealflap to close the pocket between said walls, said front wall having an elongated Window opening, to reveal address data on' an' enclosure received by said pocket, and said front wall, from the vicinity of two of its adjacent corners, being provided with two inwardly convergentlines of tearing perforations which intersect, at'spaced apart points, the proximate. inner boundary edge 'of said window, opening, said inner boundary edge, between said intersection points, being r'e-entrant upon the space between said openings inner and outer ends, to provide in said, window space, a generally connection 6, is united to said back flap only by a small side 'fiap 2, becomes completely removed from the rest of the envelope by said pulling action,as shown in Fig. 5. If desired, the window W of my improved' envelope may be equipped with the customary interior transparent patch or panel, of glass'ine, cellophane or the like. shown on the envelope blank of Fig. 1, such apatch or panel 18 makes, with the top and bottom edgesfof window W, and also with one end thereof, the usual narrow marginal overlap required for the lines of adhesive 19,

20 and 21 by which said patch held in place. Along said windows inner end, and also beneath there-entrant tab 15, no line of patchadhesive can be provided, he-

vex single-thickness free tab of front wall material, appreciably narrower than s'aidwindow opening, the said points of: intersection of the two lines of perforations with said window opening beingon opposite sides of said tab and at the base thereof, whereby said tab isiaccessible, 'without'flexure of the'envelope, ;for finger seizure and pull, to 'obtain the'rupture and tearing out of the front Wall materialalong said two lines of perforations. 2. An envelope construction as claimed by claim 1, which'includes an elongated transparent patch applied to the inside surface .ofthe front wall in overlapping relation to the side and end edges of. its window opening, said patch being adhesively connected to the front wall along all such edges of saidwindow opening except that end'edge which is intersected by said two lines of tearing perforations, f

3. Au envelopefconstruction as claimed byclaim 1,

. wherein the side flap which underlies the front walls lines of tearing perforations'has only a nominal spot glue connection to the back flap, whereby finger pull on said tab to rupture said connection obtains removal 'from' the envelope of said side flap, along with thefront wall material between said lines of tearing perforations.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany i Dec. 7, 

